Just Go Ahead Now
by MaydayParade8123
Summary: Percy fits his arm around Annabeth's waist, which, under normal circumstances, wouldn't bother her, but she can tell something's off. She pinches his hand for good measure. OR - Percy acts weird and Annabeth gets to the bottom of it, eventually. AU.


Summary: Percy fits his arm around Annabeth's waist, which, under normal circumstances, wouldn't bother her, but she can tell something's off. She pinches his hand for good measure. OR - Percy acts weird and Annabeth gets to the bottom of it, eventually.

Author's Note: unedited and kind of silly. i don't mention it, but they _are_ high schoolers here.

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series or any ch__aracters I've adopted from it. The same can be said for the Heroes of Olympus series._

;;;

The first time Percy acts _that _way, Annabeth doesn't think much of it.

About thirty minutes prior, she had been assigned a partner and given an assignment sheet—something that definitely couldn't be completed within a few class periods. Her and her partner—Axe, Annabeth wants to say, but she's not sure if his nickname is a friend's privilege or not so she continues to call him Alexander—are discussing times they can meet up. Alexander seems to have a free schedule, which is a relief, but Annabeth's trying to think of a day she_doesn't_ have some sort of meeting or practice going on.

Alexander is opening his mouth to speak when someone slings an arm over her shoulder, leaning close to her. She knows who it is before he speaks, which, on some levels, is a little terrifying, but Annabeth knows how Percy's presence feels. "Hi," he greets, pulling her closer in a half-hug.

She gives him a weird look, a little thrown off by the sudden affection, but decides not to question it. "Good morning," she says back, offering up a smile. "So, anyways, Alexander—"

"You can call me Axe," he tells her with a shrug and a somewhat shy grin.

"Axe," she corrects, smiling a little wider, "do you think I could get your number? I'm just not positive about my schedule and it would probably be easier to just call when I can." Percy squeezes her shoulder gently, clearly wanting her attention, but when she looks at him he only smiles wanly at her.

"Oh, sure, that's fine," Axe agrees immediately, gaining Annabeth's attention once more and pulling out his phone. "What's yours? I'll just text you."

Annabeth opens her mouth to recite her phone number, but Percy says it for her. She hip-bumps him in mild annoyance; Annabeth hates when _anyone_ answers for her, really, but it's a little more excusable with Percy. He chuckles, still holding her close.

Axe gives Percy a look that she can't decipher, but shrugs, tapping at his phone. "Alright, I texted you. Let me know." He salutes her before turning on his heel.

"Ready for class?" Percy asks, slipping his arm off her shoulder, slouching a little more than he was a few seconds ago. "I heard we get a big project in Mrs. O'Steen's today."

"When do we not have a big project?" Annabeth groans, hitting her head on his shoulder.

Percy gives her a weary look, back to his usual self. "Don't I know it."

;;

The second time it happens, Annabeth realizes something is up.

They're both attending Thalia's birthday party. She's Percy's cousin and one of Annabeth's closest friends, so they knew they would end up making an appearance. Nobody blinks an eye when they arrive together.

Percy immediately goes off to find Thalia, apparently having some sort of urgent family news to pass on, so Annabeth wanders over to the refreshments table, popping a few M&Ms in her mouth.

She's wondering whether or not the strawberries laid out are still fresh when someone slots in next to her, reaching for a handful of pretzels. "Oh, hey Annabeth! Long time no see!"

Annabeth turns to see Luke, a boy that graduated the year before. They had collaborated a few times in her advanced math class, eventually deciding to partner up with each other every time they had assignments requiring two people. "Luke!" Annabeth says happily, reaching up to give him a hug. "How's college and all?"

"It's good, it's really—-"

"Hey, Annabeth, who's this?" Percy interrupts, not unkindly but not really _kindly_ either. Annabeth sends him a look, since Percy isn't usually one to forget his manners.

"It's Luke. He was my math pal last year," she replies, giving Luke a grin. They had been the dream team, really, definitely two of the smartest people in their trigonometry class.

Percy fits his arm around Annabeth's waist, which, under normal circumstances, wouldn't bother her, but she can tell something's off. She pinches his hand for good measure. "Funny. Don't remember you mentioning him."

Annabeth very nearly gapes at Percy's tone, but instead gives a small laugh. "Sorry he didn't come up in conversation," she says in a questioning tone. "Anyways, Luke, how's college?"

"College," Percy says. "Where'd you end up going?"

"Nowhere big, just the community college a town over."

"Figures," Percy mutters under his breath, not loud enough for Luke to hear, thankfully, but not easily missed by Annabeth, either.

She sends Luke an apologetic smile. "Excuse us for a few minutes," she tells him politely, gripping onto Percy's shirt and pulling him in the opposite direction.

By the time she's corralled him into a deserted corner, he's looking at everything besides her. "Everything alright?" she asks, not in a particularly caring tone. "You're being weird."

"Am not," Percy argues, still not looking at her.

"You are too. You did the same thing with Axe!"

He scowls at the ground, using one foot to step on his own toes. "Yeah, well."

Annabeth raises her eyebrows, bending down in hopes of catching his eyes. "Are you going to tell me what's up?" Percy frowns, now, shaking his head. "You're being childish." With an air of resignation, Annabeth turns on her heel. She didn't come to her friend's birthday party just to deal with one pouting Percy.

He latches onto her wrist before she can get too far. "Hey, don't. It's just…" He sighs, rolling his shoulders. "Sometimes guys give you this _look_."

"'_Look_'," Annabeth repeats, her eyebrows dipping. "Define 'look'?"

"Like…" He fumbles for a moment, scratching the back of his neck. "Like, I don't know, Annabeth. Just a look. It's weird, predatory or something."

"So naturally," she starts slowly, "you should be rude to them."

He sends her a wide-eyed glance. "_No_. I'm protecting you. They're like vultures, sometimes, the way they look at you."

"I can handle myself," Annabeth informs him, as if it's not a well-known fact that she's adamant about standing up for herself. Everyone knows that she doesn't take too kindly to handouts and acts of charity towards her.

"I know," Percy grumbles, crossing his arms. "I just. I don't like the way they look at you."

"Then stop looking at boys who are looking at me," she suggests jokingly, nudging him in hopes of getting a smile. "C'mon, just don't be so rude to my friends."

Percy shrugs noncommittally, staring at a point over her shoulder. She decides to go to extremes reaching out and digging her fingers into his sides. He bats her hands away, but thankfully smiles and sighs. "Sorry. I promise I'll try."

"Good," Annabeth says, giving him a grin. "Now show me where Thalia is, won't you?"

;;

The third time it happens, Annabeth demands an explanation.

"I will literally bet you ten dollars that I am taller than you," Jason challenges, spinning in his desk chair in their corner of the computer lab.

"You aren't," Annabeth insists, remaining still in her own. "You're going to owe me ten dollars. Stand up."

Jason stands, planting his feet directly in front of her and narrowing his eyes. "See, I'm _totally_taller than you."

Percy chooses that moment to get back from his trip to the vending machine. He's cradling three drinks and a bag of Fritos, keeping his eye on Jason as he approaches his seat. "Hey… What's going on here?"

Jason turns a little, clapping his hands together. "Ah, Percy! Settle this for us once and for all. Who's taller?" Jason latches onto Annabeth's upper arms, bringing her closer in hopes of a more accurate measurement.

Percy frowns at him. "I'm taller. Than both of you." He shoves Jason's requested Sprite into his chest, none-too-gently.

_Not again_, Annabeth thinks, groaning inwardly. She loves Percy—they met at twelve and he's hardly left her side since—but sometimes his protective side can be overbearing. Jason raises his eyebrows and opens his soda, taking a sip. "You are," he agrees, tone careful. "But I was referring to Annabeth and me, actually."

"Does it really matter that much who's taller?" Percy snaps, opening his chips a little too forcefully. "Seriously, that was a thing in elementary school."

Jason scowls at Percy, who has decided the wall is more interesting than either of his close friends. "Yeah, I guess so," he says, slowly, giving a hesitant laugh. "We were just wondering."

Percy doesn't reply, but he does eat another one of his chips, offering the bag to Annabeth and pointedly not Jason.

"Jason," Annabeth says, through gritted teeth, "didn't you have a thing to do?"

Jason frowns, cocking his head to the side. "Not that I can—"

"Jason," she repeats, tonelessly. "You really needed to do something. On the other side of the room."

The blonde boy's eyes clear in understanding. He spares Percy another glance before nodding. "Yeah, I did. Let me know when it's safe to be done with that thing."

Annabeth gives him an 'I'm sorry' smile, which he shrugs off and slumps into another chair across the room. She kicks Percy's chair, making him jump. "What?" he questions, irritably.

She gives him an expectant look, crossing her arms. "You know what."

"I don't know what," he persists, eating another chip. She statches the Fritos from his grasp and sets them on the desk. "Hey…"

"You're doing it again," Annabeth tells him, scowling. "Being rude to friends."

"I wasn't aware you and Jason were all _buddy-buddy_," Percy very nearly sneers, and Annabeth's eyebrows shoot up in shock.

"Percy."

"Annabeth."

She sighs, shoving his shoulder. "Come on. You know you're being weird."

"I am not," Percy says, scratching at his jaw. "Jason's being weird, if anything."

"Jason?" Annabeth asks in disbelief. "He's being completely _normal_. We're always holding some sort of bet or competition, you know that."

"Yeah, well, he could have held a competition that didn't require being all over you," Percy says lightly, reaching for his chips.

Annabeth bats his hand away, her face flushing in anger. "Percy, you're being _ridiculous_, Jason was just comparing our height!"

He falls silent, fidgeting with his hands and deflating considerably. "I know."

Annabeth nearly throws her hands up. "Then why are you being so—?"

Percy groans, burying his face in his hands. "It's just… you know." He peeks at Annabeth through his fingers and sighs. "It's, like, I'm just not so cool with Jason standing so close to you."

"Measuring height," Annabeth comments. "Literally _measuring height_—"

"No, not just Jason," Percy interjects, sighing again. "All boys. In general. I just don't like it."

It dawns on Annabeth then, and she can't help but blurt out, "You're jealous?"

Percy is quiet for a few seconds, but eventually nods. "Kind of."

She finds herself smiling, nudging at his foot with her own. "Was that so hard to say?"

"Yes." His voice is muffled by his palms. "It was."

"Well, it shouldn't have been. I was starting to think that your personality was doing a 180." He doesn't answer, so she pushes at his foot even more. "Stop hiding, you don't have to be all… Embarrassed." Her smugness might shine through in her tone.

"But I am," Percy says, dropping his hands to his knees and revealing his reddened cheeks. "It makes me feel stupid. I can't stop getting mad, like, no matter how hard I try to kind of hold it back I still end up being mean."

"Jealously is a dangerous thing," Annabeth comments lightly, before a thought occurs to her. "Hey, what are you jealous of anyways?"

Percy's face goes bright red then. "Nothing. It's, uh, just—general jealousy, nothing really particular," he stammers, doing a very poor job of lying.

"Riiiiight," Annabeth says, showing how convinced she is. He gives her a sideways glance. "Well, be it friendship jealousy or romantic jealousy…" She shrugs. "You don't really have to worry either way. So stop being mean to our friends."

Percy looks at her fully, eyes scanning her face. "Yeah?"

Annabeth gives a half-hearted eyeroll and waves Jason back over. "Yeah, you big loser."

;;;


End file.
